40 Nights: Heiji and Kazuha
by fd
Summary: 40 short stories of the Osakan detective and his best friend. [Tomorrow: Heiji did not appreciate the phone call at one in the morning that woke him.]
1. For Warmth

**Fandom**: Detective Conan

**Title: **For Warmth

**Author/Artist**: fd

**Theme(s):** #33, I feel peace at night

**Pairing/Characters**: Heiji Hattori/Kazuha Toyama

**Rating**: PG

**Disclaimer**: They are sadly not mine.

**Summary**: "Well, it looks like we're going to have to share it…"

**---**

It had been Heiji's idea. A camping trip with some friends. It would be nice, a chance to get away from the constant flow of dead bodies that seemed to somehow find their way to his doorstep. Kazuha couldn't complain about that aspect; there were only so many trips to the store, dinner, bowling, or wherever before she had had her fill of cadavers.

At the last minute, however, Shinichi and Ran had pulled out. Something about a case or a tournament or something. The Osakans weren't quite sure of the facts as their two friends' stories seemed to contradict each other. For once though, Heiji wasn't suspicious. Kazuha blamed it on his denseness; she knew _exactly_ what Ran was doing.

So there they sat, the two of them, alone in the woods. It wasn't too awkward but it wasn't exactly smooth sailing either. The ride up had been relatively quiet, for them, and setting up camp hadn't gone too terribly wrong. Now that they'd gotten all the premliminary jobs done, however, an uneasy silence fell over them.

"So, what do you want to do?" Heiji murmured. Kazuha looked at him, halfway confused.

"I don't know, I've never been camping before. What do you do?" Heiji seemed to really ponder the question.

"Actually, I've never really thought about it. Usually we fish—"

"I don't like fishing," Kazuha turned up her nose.

"—Or, I don't know." He pulled out a pack of cards from his pocket. "Know any good card games?" Kazuha's face lit up as she took the deck from his hands.

The games went on much longer than either expected as both parties really had no idea what would happen once they ended. But pretty soon Heiji was out of a lot of money and fake money and favors and ice cream trips on the way home from school, so he decided to call time. Kazuha pouted, mainly because she had been winning.

It had gotten pretty late while Heiji had been losing his gambling credit and the pair decided to turn in for the night. It was then that they realized their mistake. It had been a rush to get everything packed. Such a rush that, it seemed, they only packed one sleeping bag.

The two looked at each other for a long time before Kazuha declared that, obviously, the bag should be hers.

"What? Why?"

"I'm a girl, aren't I? And thus, I need the sleeping bag."

"Ahou, you're a bed stealer is all you are. I think I should get the bag."

"And why would that be?"

"Because I want it."

"Well, that's a good reason," Kazuha shot back sarcastically. Heiji frowned at her.

"You want me to freeze? We're supposed to reach a new low tonight." Kazuha sighed.

"No, I don't want you to freeze. Look, we're getting nowhere fast. Are you sure there's not another sleeping bag in there?" Heiji nodded. "Well, it looks like we're going to have to share it." The color drained from Heiji's face.

"S-share it?"

"Yes, ahou, share it. Now come over here so we can figure out how we're going to fit two people in such a small space." Heiji's face, still ashen white, turned towards her.

"It _is _small, isn't it?"

"Yes. It is. Get over it." She reached for the sleeping bag and began laying it out. "Now, it would probably work better if you got in first. I mean, you're bigger than me so I'll have more room to squeeze my way in." Heiji was retaining the information only superficially.

"Bigger? Squeeze?"

"Yes," Kazuha continued, having rolled out the bag and now staring at it, as if sizing it up, "and I think it's just big enough that we won't be too terribly uncomfortable." It was at this point that she looked up at him. "Well, what are you waiting for? Come on."

With slow, deliberate steps, Heiji made his way into the tent, staring at the offending sleeping bag the entire time. A determined look on his face, he got into the sleeping bag and turned to face Kazuha.

"Your turn," he smirked.

Kazuha, seeming to finally grasp the tension of the situation, had the grace to blush before gingerly putting one foot inside the sleeping bag. Slowly but surely, she managed to wriggle her way into the smaller than it looked bag, a blush on her face matching her friend's.

"Your feet are cold," Heiji pouted.

"Get over it," Kazuha grunted.

Five minutes soon passed in awkward silence as neither party knew quite what to do. Sleep could never come soon enough. Kazuha tried to stretch out a little but stopped quickly when Heiji gave her a look. Five more minutes passed.

"You know, we'll never sleep at this rate," Kazuha mentioned drolly.

"Who's fault is that?" Heiji accused.

"Who packed the equipment?" Kazuha fired back. Heiji muttered something under his breath. "What was that?"

"Nothing," he replied.

Twenty minutes passed faster than either had known it could. Heiji was still wide awake but Kazuha was fighting a losing battle.

"Just try to get some sleep, okay?" He finally managed to tell her. Kazuha smiled sleepily at him.

"Mmkay," she sighed, resting her head against the pillow they had to share. Heiji blushed bright red as Kazuha, half asleep by this point, snuggled in against him. Mentally reminding himself that they did this simply because of the cold, he slowly put his arm around her, pulling her in closer. For warmth.

Heiji was asleep within minutes.

**Author's Note: **_Well, the start of a grand adventure. I blame Candyland. She pushed me into this. xD Well, at any rate, this story is dedicated to her because, as was stated, she's the one that got me to begin writing these in the first place. Look forward to, oh, a few more. ;D_


	2. Light on Her Feet

**Title:** Light on Her Feet  
**Fandom**: Detective Conan  
**Theme**: #1, You are never mine to begin with  
**Pairing/Characters**: Heiji Hattori/Kazuha Toyama  
**Rating**: PG  
**Disclaimer**: They are sadly not mine.  
**Summary**: It had been getting easier to stand

* * *

It was really easy to watch him walk impassively down the hallway, hand in hand with the new girl of the week. He'd started that, after all, years ago. Dating girls, breaking up with girls. It had all become a sort of a blur. Even Kazuha had trouble remembering their names.

He'd string them along, tell them stories about his daring adventures as the heroic teenage detective. They'd buy every word and cling to him. Maybe not him. The idea of him. The idea of a dashing young man, slightly dangerous and exotic, that had come to sweep them off their feet.

A week later, they'd be dumped and a new girl would start her adventure as the girlfriend of Heiji Hattori.

Kazuha had come to terms with this long ago. It had begun to scare her how easily she brushed them off. They weren't girls anymore; they were flavors. Spicy, vanilla, tangy, sweet. He was just trying his fill.

She had no doubt that, eventually, he'd come back to her.

Four years after they had graduated, he came to tell her the news. He was engaged. A beautiful girl he brought in. Hikari. She smiled, shone, sparkled. Kazuha felt sick.

They went on a bunch of outings, Heiji desperate for approval from his best friend. Kazuha smiled and danced her way through. She had always been light on her feet.

One night she took Hikari aside, gave her a talking to. Told her about the way he liked his miso soup and what to do when he got too into a case. How he would wear his favorite shirt only on Sundays or vacations and why the color purple really irked him. After her tirade, Hikari smiled at her.

"You're a good person, Kazuha-san."

Kazhua smiled wearily and thanked the girl. She couldn't handle that geniune kindness that seemed to radiate off her like the gentle glow she was named after. She couldn't handle her replacement.

She was a bridesmaid. She smiled her way through the ceremony and danced at the reception. Wished the newlyweds well. Bought them a toasteroven.

And when they had troubles, she talked them through it and when they were happy, she smiled with them. And she took the good with the bad, dating man after boy, in a constant struggle to regain what was. The boy she was meant to be with. The boy that never was hers.

**Author's Note: **_I blame the weird style of this on the fact that I've been doing too much English 19 homework lately. So yes, a new Nights fic. Written while watching Win a Date with Tad Hamilton with my roommate. Can you spot the influence:) And did I mention this is my first time doing something angsty (however slight) in **two years** ? I hope I'm not rusty._


	3. Tomorrow

**Fandom**: Detective Conan  
**Title**: Tomorrow  
**Author**: fd  
**Theme(s)**: #8, One last date…  
**Pairing/Characters**: Heiji/Kazuha  
**Rating**: PG  
**Disclaimer/claimer:** They're still not mine.  
**Summary**: Heiji did not appreciate the phone call at one in the morning that woke him.

* * *

Heiji did not appreciate the phone call at one in the morning that woke him. Sure, he should have been working on that essay due Monday but a rude intrusion was completely different from procrastinating work. Completely. 

"Hello?" he answered gruffly. One woke a sleeping Hattori at his or her own risk.

"Heiji? Have you seen Kazuha?" Kazuha's father's voice came across the line worried and nervous. Heiji sat up instantly and grabbed a bit on the phone.

"No. Why? What happened?"

"Well," Kazuha's father began shakily, "she went out to get some grocery's a few hours ago and she never came home. I was beginning to think she went over to visit you and forgot to call."

"No," Heiji shook his head, even if the poor man couldn't see it over the phone, "but I'm going out to look for her. I'll call you when I find her." He heard a sigh from the other end of line.

"I'm going out, too. Thank you, Hattori-kun." A click told him the phone had been hung up. Heiji mumbled something about stupid ahous and started to grab his jacket when he heard a noise from his window.

Confused, he walked towards it only to see a certain brown haired girl throwing rocks at his window. She waved happily when she saw him. After letting out the obligatory angry sigh, Heiji ran downstairs to her.

"Kazuha!" he yelled when he finally reached her, "what the hell do you think you're doing? Your father's worried sick!"

Kazuha didn't even flinch at Heiji's accusations. She simply smiled sweetly at him and put her hands behind her back. Finaly, after Heiji had had his fill of yelling at her, she opened her mouth to speak.

"Heiji, take me dancing."

He stared at her blankly for a few moments.

"….What?"

"Take. Me. Dancing."

"Kazuha, it's one o'clock in the morning."

"There are still clubs open."

"You're father's worried sick about you."

"We'll call him later."

"Kazuha, this isn't like you." Her eyes opened dangerously wide.

"Heiji, please."

He muttered for awhile before saying to wait a second, he needed to put shoes on. She smiled brightly and followed him to the kitchen where she waited patiently. He stomped up the stairs, trying to show his annoyance with her through the action. She smiled wider.

When he was ready, they got on his motorcycle and headed towards town. There were only a few places open to seventeen year olds this late at night but luckily one was pretty close. The lights were low, the music was loud enough, and the mood could even be called romantic, if one were paying attention to such things.

Neither Kazuha nor Heiji was quite dressed for dancing but neither seemed to care. While still a little annoyed with her, Heiji couldn't help but lead his best friend onto the dance floor. Of course, right when they were about to dance, the music changed, a slow song. Heiji momentarily froze until he felt Kazuha guide his hands to the appropriate positions. He took it from there.

Gliding was nice. And really, she didn't look too bad. A tee shirt and jeans was no ballgown but, in Heiji's honest opinion, she almost looked better that way. She looked like Kazuha. He smiled.

"That's the first smile I've seen out of you all night," a voice murmured.

"If you drag me out of my house at one in the morning, of course I'm going to be angry," he whispered back softly. "This _is_ nice, though. We should come again."

"Yeah," Kazuha whispered. "Again."

They fell back into a gentle rhythm. If you asked him later, Heiji would not be able to say how he managed to actually dance without tripping over his own two feet but miracles seemed to happen. After an hour or so of dancing, though, Kazuha seemed tired.

"Ready for me to take you home?" Kazuha looked up, alarmed.

"No! I mean, aren't you hungry?"

"Kazuha, it's two thirty in the morning."

"…I'm sure somewhere's open."

And that's how the two ended up in a Denny's, eating pancakes or, in Heiji's case, coffe only, at four thirty.

"Kazuha, this has been fun. Really. But I'm tired. Can we go home?" She let out a long suffering sigh.

"You never _could_ stay up late." He snorted.

"I get enough sleep, night owl." She wasn't even paying attention, though. They payed for their food and meandered their way home.

Parked in front of Kazuha's house, she stared thoughfully upwards towards her door. Heiji watched her for a second before asking gruffly, "What? You aren't going in?"

She turned towards him and he noticed her cheeks were tear stained.

"Kazuha? What's wrong?" He wasn't good at handling crying girls but he knew they shouldn't stay crying. He watched as she came closer to him. He watched as she put her arms around him and felt his own arms snaking around her. And he watched as she lifted her lips to his.

He had always thought that he would be the one to initiate their first kiss (not that he thought it would ever really happen, mind you). He didn't, however, have any problem with this. After a moment of shock, he returned the kiss full force. There was a longing, a needing to grasp something beyond each of their reaches.

She finally pulled away and caught his eyes. All he could do was stare at how the moon gleamed in hers.

"I love you, Heiji."

Simple words but they caught his breath. He didn't even know that men did that. But he watched her, tears welling up in the corners of her eyes and emotions he was never completely sure he had overcame him.

"I love you, too."

She smiled at him, running back to his arms for one last embrace. He didn't want to let go. But she pulled out of his arms and walked towards her home. When she reached the doorstep, she turned around.

"See you tomorrow."

He smiled at her brightly.

"Yeah, if I ever wake up. See you tomorrow, 'zuha."

Heiji entered his house to the sound of pacing feet. Entering the living room, he saw his father sitting still in his arm chair as his mother paced to and fro. At the sight of him, however, she rushed towards him, tears in her eyes, pulling him into a huge hug.

"Oh, Heiji. Where have you been?"

"Out. Why? Is everything okay?" His father coughed.

"A little after two, a phone call came for you. It was Kazuha's father." His face turned stonelike. "She was found in an alleyway behind a corner market."

Heiji felt an ache start up in his stomach but he ignored it. "…What?"

"They think it was a mugger. She didn't have any money on her, just her groceries. He … Oh, Heiji," and his mother was in sobs again.

All Heiji could do was stare straight ahead and think of Kazuha's face. Her words rang in his head.

"See you tomorrow."

_**Author's Note:** A combination of two ideas I had for this prompt. One was Heiji doing the "already dead date" thing and another of Older!Heiji and Kazuha and Kazuha wanting him to take her dancing before she died. And kablaam! They became one! And for once in my life, I wrote an omake. Enjoy. xD_

Omake:

St. Michael had never been so terrified.

"What do you _mean_ he killed me!" the outraged girl yelled. "I haven't even gone on my first date yet! I haven't been kissed! And now I'm _dead!_"

"Well…um…" he tried to strangle out.

"Oh, no. You are going to let me go back down there and ask Heiji out. You _are_."

There was no way in Heaven he could deny her. Not when she had a stranglehold like that.


End file.
